Ellen and Ben’s Packington Moor wedding is going to blow you away. Firstly, just look at Ellen’s Maggie Sottero dress — wow! Then there are the shoes, oh the Jenny Packham shoes! We also adore the soft pink embellished bridesmaid dresses that really complement Ellen’s stunning wedding dress. Ben and the groomsmen are rather dapper in their Moss Bros suits with traditional tails too.

Ok, well if you think the bridal attire is amazing, how about the styling details… this wedding is so pretty. From the fabulous flowers and pretty floral ceremony arch, to the elegant wedding cake and seating plan.

Everything about this wedding oozes romance and elegance. You are going to love these beautiful pictures by Helen Howard Photography.

Groom standing behind bride with arms around her waist

A Romantic Proposal

“When Ben proposed I was in the Bahamas completing medical school training. I was extremely homesick and missing Ben desperately. He kindly booked me in to a lovely hotel for a weekend to allow me to escape the dreadful accommodation I had been staying in.

“Before dawn on the first night I was at the hotel I was woken by a room boy who was very insistently banging on my door to deliver a card. The card told me to go down to the jetty. So after pulling on a dress I ran down to the jetty to find Ben. He had secretly flown over to the Bahamas and was waiting as the sun came up over the sea to propose. He stayed for only 36hours before flying back to the UK.”

Timeless With No Regrets

“We didn’t plan on having a wedding theme, but we knew we wanted our wedding to be timeless. We didn’t want to regret anything on the pictures when we showed our grandchildren in fifty years’ time.

“As time went on, and my dress had been chosen, a subtle 1920’s theme came through with the typeface on the table plan and place settings. In terms of colours we stuck to classic ivory and blush pink, which again felt timeless and pretty.”

Wedding bouquets on doorstep

Bride label on wedding bouquet

Wedding dress hanging from beam in cottage at Packington Moor

Wedding dress hanging from beam

Heaven Scent

“For my birthday Ben took me to Floris, a London perfumery where we spent a wonderful afternoon creating a bespoke fragrance which I wore for the first time on the wedding day. It is so lovely to wear it now as it brings back all of the wonderful memories of our day.”

Bottle of perfume

Blush bridesmaid dresses

Bridal preparations at Packington Moor

Bride having hair done

Bridal shoes

No.1 Jenny Packham wedding shoes

Tiffany and Co. necklace

Earrings

Bride looking in mirror

Bride laughing

Bridesmaid gift bags

Label on bridesmaid gift bag

Bridesmaids opening gifts

Bride hugging bridesmaid

Vintage brooch

Hair comb

Bridesmaids doing up back of bride's dress

Back of bride wearing veil

Bride standing with bridesmaids

Bride with veil over her face

Bride walking down stairs

Father seeing bride for first time on wedding day

Bridesmaids in blush dresses

Bridesmaids holding bouquets

Bride and bridesmaids walking with bride's father to wedding ceremony at Packington Moor

Packington Moor Wedding Venue

“We loved the rustic elegance of Packington Moor, and the fact that we could decorate the venue to represent us. The venue could supply all of the food and staff, meaning we had less to organise. We needed somewhere near to my parents that also had a quiet space for my Dad. He has a chronic illness that sometimes means he has to rest — the on-site cottage was perfect.

Wedding sign at Packington Moor

Floral wreath

Wedding ceremony seating at Packington Moor

Flowers

Ceremony seats for Packington Moor wedding

Ribbon bow tied to ceremony chair

Boxes of petal confetti

Flower arch altar at Packington Moor wedding

Floral wedding arch

Flowers on arch

Floral display

Bridesmaid walking down aisle at Packington Moor wedding

Bride and father entering wedding ceremony at Packington Moor

Father walking bride down aisle at Packington Moor wedding

Bride and groom at altar at Packington Moor wedding

Bride and groom exchanging rings

Bride and groom kiss at Packington Moor wedding

Bride and groom leaving wedding ceremony at Packington Moor

Wedding confetti shot at Packington Moor

Bride and groom kissing at Packington Moor

Bride and groom

Tray of wedding canapes

Wedding guest taking canape

Bridal party

Bride with man laying on bench

Groom holding up bride's dress as she walks

Bride and groom walking past trees at Packington Moor

Bride and groom touching heads

Bride and groom in front of tall trees at Packington Moor

Bride holding onto groom's arm

Bride and groom walking holding hands at Packington moor

Bride's large bouquet

Bride and groom resting heads on each other

Simple Decorations and Lots of Flowers

“Flowers were very important to us. Emily Wisher Artisan Florist saw our vision of bouncy, unstructured florals which smelt amazing. I didn’t want to detract attention from the florals and so stuck to simple votive candles and pearl picture frames with seating details to dress the tables. We also had two large pedestal arrangements, an archway decorated with florals and a top table swag of flowers. As the evening went on it was lovely having the votives twinkling as we danced.

Mirror wedding table plan

Floral wedding table centrepiece at Packington Moor wedding

Photo frame for wedding table name

Pretty wedding table display

Pretty wedding table at Packington Moor

Wedding table display

Photo frame wedding table name

Hanging heart with wedding couple's names

Bride and groom take seats at top table

Father of the bride speech

Guest laughing at wedding speech

Groom speech

Bridesmaid speech

Best man speech

Bride holding just married number plate

Fun Photos

“From the first text messages and emails with Helen Howard Photography, I felt like we fitted well. This was confirmed on our engagement shoot with her. She put us at ease; we giggled our way through it and felt like we had made a friend. When the photos came, we were smitten; I stayed up for almost a whole night scrolling through the photos. I was amazed that Helen had managed to capture the love, excitement and laughter that makes me and Ben a couple.”

Bride and groom outside barn at Packington Moor

Bride and groom laughing together

Bride and groom walking in grounds of Packington Moor

Bride and groom sitting on bench at Packington Moor

Groom holding bride's hand

Bride with groom out of focus in background

Bride turning to look at groom

Bride and groom laughing in grounds of Packington Moor

Timeless wedding cake

Bride and groom cutting cake at Packington Moor wedding

Dancing, and Meaningful Music

“We chose ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, as our first dance song. It was the first song we listened to together during the early days of our relationship. Ben isn’t a natural dancer so he wanted to encourage our guests to join us on the dance floor quickly. Everyone followed suit and it was so lovely to dance our first dance completely surrounded by everyone.

“Choosing songs which meant a lot to us was important and we put lots of thought in to it. We had a wonderful pianist playing for the ceremony and wedding breakfast. I walked down the aisle to ‘How Long Will I Love You’, and we had some of the lyrics ‘As Long as Stars are Above You’ engraved on the inside of our wedding rings. The lyrics are so beautiful and felt so meaningful. I was nervous as I stood outside the ceremony waiting to go in, but as soon as the first notes of the song started I relaxed and couldn’t wait to walk towards Ben.”

88 - A Timeless, Pretty Wedding at Packington Moor

Wedding first dance

Bride and groom dancing

Bride and groom on dance floor at Packington Moor

Taking It All In

“Our Packington Moor wedding was everything we dreamed of and more. My biggest advice for any bride and groom is the old cliché of making sure that you have some time as a couple during the day to reflect. We were lucky that our time with our photographer allowed us to be together and marvel at how perfect the day with. Later on, as we danced, we had time again to take in the blissful happiness of being husband and wife with our friends and family all around us.”

Photography: Helen Howard Photography

Wedding Venue: Packington Moor, Staffordshire

Bride’s Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero Ettia Dress from J&J Designs, Newcastle under Lyme

Shoes: Harlow Peep Toe Satin Shoes by Rainbow Club, and No.1 Jenny Packham Ivory Jewel Embellished Stiletto Sandals

Suits: Moss Bros

Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon

Flowers: Emma Wisher Artisan Florist

Wedding Cake: Celebration Cakes

Catering: Galloping Gourmet at Packington Moor

Stationery: Designed by bride and her uncle, Paul Kesteron

Videographer: Our Wedding The Movie

Bridal Hairdresser: Family friend, Kate Goodwin

Bridal Make-Up: Rebecca Frances Make-Up Artist